from Rory Boylen of Sportsnet,

All four wild-card teams advanced. The third team in NHL history to win 62 games in a regular season failed to get even one in the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights were up 3-1 in their series, and 3-0 with 11 minutes left in Game 7, but still couldn’t get out of Round 1. Only three of the nine teams to hit 100 points this season are still standing.

Just as we all predicted.

The first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs will go down as one of the wildest, least predictable ever. From a shocking sweep to a couple of overtime Game 7s, the second round has a lot to live up to. Before we move on, we take one look back at some things we learned from the first two weeks of the playoffs.

Enter the playoffs on a high note

The hottest teams mostly got through. The only team to advance that didn’t win at least six of their final 10 regular season games were the San Jose Sharks, who beat a similarly struggling Vegas in seven. The Lightning were knocked out by a Blue Jackets team surging at the right moment. And the No. 8 seed Colorado Avalanche lost only one regulation game in their final 10, while top-seed Calgary dropped its last two in a row.

Finishing strong isn’t always an indication of incoming playoff success. In 2018, the Anaheim Ducks won eight of their last 10 games and were swept by the San Jose Sharks, who finished 5-4-1. And it may actually lose significance the deeper into the bracket you go. Last year’s Capitals finished 8-2-0, but the 2017 champion Penguins came in 4-4-2.

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